Improvement in draft-bars for railway-cars



W. R. CROSS.

DRAFT BARS 'Fon RAILWAY CARS.

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEIGE.

l WILLIAM R. CROSS, OF PIEDMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF HIS RIGHT TO SYLVESTER A. SILVER, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN DRAFT-BARS FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1S 1,048, dated August 15, 1876; application tiled June l5, 1876.

draft and buffing apparatus, in which the shocks induced in starting, stopping, and bumping shall be, as far as practicable, reduced, and the strain in drawing and pushing be equalized and distributed throughout .the car-frame; to which ends my improvements consist in combining with the drawheads two draw bars, connected by an intermediate swivel, central and end buffmgsprings, and jam-blocks and distance pieces, through which the shocks and strains brought upon the springs are transmitted to the carframe, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan or top view, partly in section, of a carframe, having my improvements attached, and Fig. 2 a vertical longitudinal central section through the same.

My improvements are shown as applied to a car-irame, A, of the style of construction usually employed upon American railroads.

`Two draw-heads, B B', one at each end of the frame, are arranged in guides beneath the same, with the capacity of a limited amount of longitudinal movement, each draw-head be ing suitably recessed for the reception of a coupling link and pin. The draw-heads are connected by two draw-rods, C (l1, passing through their inner ends, and united at or near the center of the car-frame by a swivel, G2. Heads c c1 are formed upon the outer ends of the rods C O1, and, respectively, bear against the inner end faces of the draw-heads B B', so as to prevent the latter from being drawn farther apart than the distance between the heads, whilel permitting them, when under compression, to be pushed closer together. The inner ends of the draw-rods are connected to the swivel O2 by nuts c2, or by keys, as may be found preferable. The two draw-heads are thus connected independently of the frame of the car, so that while being hauled in a train the strain ofv the following cars is sustained by the draft-rods, and not by the frame ofthe leading car, as otherwise would be the case. The use of the swivel and the two separate draw-rods renders the apparatus more conveniently applicable, and affords better facilities for renewal and repair than where a single draw-rod is employed.

The pull or thrust applied t0 the draw-heads B B in the operations of hauling, starting, stopping, or coupling cars, is transferred to the frame A through a series of springs, arranged substantially as follows: A spring, D, is placed between the draw-head B and ajamblock, al, secured to the sills, and abutting against the adjacent bolster A1, and a similar spring, D, is placed between the other drawhead Bf, and ajam-block, a2, abutting against the bolster A2, adjacent to the draw-head B. Springs D3 D4, at each end of the swivel C?, bear on the heads of the swivel, and also, respectively, against jam-blocks o3 a, one of which, a3, is secured to an intermediate crossbeam, A3, of the frame, and the other, a4, to a similar beam, A4, on the opposite side ofthe swivel, the jam-blocks a3 a4 being provided t0 enable the cross-beams A3 A4to be set sufiiciently far apart. Distance-pieces A5 are placed between the bolster A1 and beam A3, and similar pieces AG between the bolster A2 and beam A4. rIhe draw-heads B B' are, respectively, provided with draw-head blocks b b1, to prevent the couplings from jamming into the castings, and the jam-blocks are provided with suitable washers to afford bearings for the springs.

It is obvious that, if preferred, the swivel O2 might be dispensed with, and a single drawrod, provided with a bearing or bearings near its center for the springs D3 D4, could be substituted without departing from the spirit of my invention, as the ofiice of the swivel is to serve not only as a connection for the rods, but also as an abutment for said springs; but I consider the arrangement of two draw-rods and a swivel, as shown, to be more desirable, in view ofthe greater convenience of application and repair.

In the operation of the apparatus, when pwer is applied to draw the car in the direction of the arrow, the springs D and D4 are compressed, and the strain is thereby applied to the frame through the bolsters lA1A2 and cross-beams A3 A4, being transmitted through the jam-blocks ai uz and distance-pieces A5 A6. In pushing the car from the opposite end and in the same direction, it is obvious that the same application and transmission of strain will be made, and, further, that in either onse the strain due to the weight of the remaining cars ot' the train is sustained wh lly by the draft-rods and swivel, and not by the frame of the car. Similarly, in coupling cars the shock is received by two springs at different points in the length of the car, and the concussion correspondingly reduced and distributed throughout the frame.

1 am well aware that sundry arrangements of continuous draw-bars, provided with bufingsprings, have been heretofore known, and do not, therefore, broadly, claim such device.

I claim as my invention, and desire to se cure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination of two draw-heads, united by a continuous draw rod or rods,

springs, and jam-blocks, interposed between W. R. GROSS.

Witnesses: Y R. H. BURNUP, W. E. HESKITT. 

